Michael Collister & Stephen Gale finished on top of the table in the Pairs League last Sunday at the NSC after an enthralling end to a competitive league.
John Jauncey & Chris Holland started the day as leaders but with them having a bye in the first round of matches Collister & Gale took full advantage with a 15-5 win over Ann Hollingworth & Rita Woodworth. Seamus Whelan & Collin Holland kept their chances alive after coming from behind to draw 9-9 with Ann Gale & Dave McTaggart. Jill Quayle & Moira Anderson enjoyed a 16-5 victory over David Cottier & Peter Coward and Matt Quayle & Sylvia Maddrell took the win against Archie & Wyn Collister with an impressive 14-7.
The big game in the next round of matches was Whelan & Holland against Jauncey & Holland and in a terrific game of high scoring bowls it was the former who came out on top with an 18-12 win. The defeat for Jauncey & Holland meant Collister & Gale could wrap up the championship but blew their chance, going down 10-8 to Matt Quayle & Sylvia Maddrell. Anderson & Quayle had their second win of the day with a 10-8 victory over the Collisters and Cottier & Coward came from behind to snatch an 11-10 victory over Gale & McTaggart.
Heading in to the final round of matches, Collister & Gale were on 16 points with Whelan & Holland and Jauncey & Holland were 1 point behind them, however Whelan & Holland had completed their matches and had to watch on to see who would take the crown. Jauncey & Holland made a shaky start but fought back to win 11-6 against Cottier & Coward but Collister & Gale saved their best performance of the season for the last game with an impressive 14-4 win over Quayle & Anderson meaning they would be crowned champions. Ann Gale & Dave McTaggart completed an impressive campaign with a 10-8 win over the Collister to finish in 4th place while Matt Quayle & Sylvia MAddrell couldn’t complete a hat-trick of wins, losing out to Ann Hollingworth & Rita Woodworth 12-9.
The final standings are:
[standings league_id=8 template=compact logo=false]
Next week is the National Championships which will decide who will be representing the Isle of Man in the British Short Mat Bowling Championships at Potters in England.